Aturdir (Matt Holt x Reader)

Who Said You're A Hero?

 "Princess Allura!" Coran's voice rang out, gaining everyones attention. "A distress signal!"

"From where, Coran?" She asked, stepping up to the central control of the Castle of Lions.

"Aturdir!" He proclaimed.

The princess pulled up a hologram and gasped. "Aturdir? I never imagined we would receive a distress signal from them. Can you tell what is the cause?"

Coran mumbled a little. "It appears that the vegetation of the planet has become so overgrown that the inhabitants villages are being destroyed!"

"Wait—So like a Balmera but with vegetation instead of crystals?" Pidge asked.

"Exactly, Pidge." The princess confirmed. "And we need to hurry! If we don't retrieve the citizens they could be trapped under the vegetation forever!"

Instantly, the castle was flying toward the planet. Upon closer inspection, Matt realized it looked just like earth. Blue water, green grass... he missed it. He wished they weren't here on a rescue mission because this was a planet he'd actually like to spend time learning about. This was one of Matt's first missions since Pidge had found him and brought him back to the Castle of Lions, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly nervous.

"So, what are the inhabitants like?" Hunk asked, staring out towards the planet in equal awe.

"Well, I have only met with them once. Quite a paradoxical race they are!" She let out a light giggle. "Do not let their tough exterior and rather bland communication phase you. The Aturdirie are brave, strong-willed, and fantastic fighters, but are also among the kindest and most selfless  in the universe."

"So... we're like... rescuing a bunch of buff pixies?" Lance furrowed his brows.

Allura giggled lightly. "No, of course not. I wish we were not meeting them under such circumstances because I believe you all will get along with them quite well."

"Ah, yes!" Coran agreed sharply. "It's where I learned to fight with a snake! With a proper whip and snap, they are as sturdy as a tree branch!"

All of the paladins winced. A snake bo-staff didn't sound all that appealing. And to Lance, neither did the Aturdirie. Rough exterior, good fighters... yet kind. They sounded like a bunch of burly, cute faced aliens. Plus, after being to so many planets and meeting so many people, his hopes were running low on finally meeting someone. The lonelier he became, the less hope he retained in finding someone. And he knew for a fact, this place wouldn't be any better than the rest.

The lions departed from the castle and circled in the air as they scouted for a spot to land to allow passengers on board. When Coran finally landed the ship safely, Allura conducted a bio-scan and found all life sources on the planet. "Hunk, Lance, you two head to the east and tell the survivors to head this way while keeping the vegetation under control. Shiro, Keith, you two take north and east ends of the planet. Pidge and Matt, there is on individual high up on that mountain. Go get them!"

Within seconds, the Paladins were soaring toward their destinations. Pidge was glad she was finally sent on her own mission to find this rogue person who was idiotic enough to climb a mountain in the middle of a crisis.

She circled the mountain up and down until she found a large cliff with a landing pad of sorts. It looked like ships had landed there before. Hesitantly, she and Matt made their way outside of the green lion. Pidge had her bayard at the ready and Matt his gun. Though this place lived up to its name, overwhelming to the point of fuzzy thought, Matt tried to keep his head straight. As the pair of siblings explored, they found small little satellites and computers lying around, all wired up in a complex web. The distress signal.

"Hello?" Pidge called out. No response.

In Matt's peripheral, he caught a flicker of movement and whipped his head around. To his misfortune, to only be met with a tree root careening towards him. Out of no where, an arrow ablaze with a eery purple glow stuck into the root as it hovered above him. It exploded with a loud crack and then an arm was gripping his own, standing him up.

"Shoot it!" A voice hollered at him.

But he didn't move. The figure which was screaming at him wasn't as big or tall as he was expecting based on Allura's description. They had four limbs just like someone from earth. But their face was covered by cloth and a pair of large goggles. Suddenly, Matt's gun was snatched from his hands. 

Blue light arced outwards out as the person fired the gun, exploding the angry tree roots to pieces. "Are you gonna get us out of here or no?!" They cried.

"Ah, sure. C'mon Pidge!" He shrugged and grabbed their arm, along with his gun in the process. Allura wasn't kidding about these people being good fighters. The arm he grabbed felt just like a persons. Strangely too human. He had helped many aliens up by the arm in his time as a Galra prisoner, and this just didn't feel the same. 

Once in the lion, Pidge powered the ship up and open fired at the roots trying to drag them down. "Go go go!" The new person gripping the back of her chair urged anxiously. Finally breaking free from the roots, they lifted into the sky and went blasting back toward the castle. They were the last to arrive out of everyone, and once Pidge landed the lion in the hangar, the castle rumbled off into the sky.

"Why was your planet attacking you?" Pidge questioned to the mysterious person trying to find a way out of the lion.

"It's been gaining strength for many millennia. It gains power through the energy we exert on it—like through running and training. Each foot strike is like a jolt of energy. It grew strong enough to sustain itself and well, tried to eat us? I don't know. I never paid attention when the leaders explained it." They continued looking around curiously.

"The princess said you guys were pretty tough, but also kind. Is that true?" Matt asked.

"Depends on your definition of kind. I believe that we do fight for what is right and that we try to protect life. Who, or whatever, stands in the way of that might not speak of us the same way."

"Sooo..." Pidge ambled over to the person curiously, shifting her weight back and forth, hands behind her back. "What do you guys look like?"

The person crossed their arms. "Why do you need to know?"

"Well...because we want to know what such heroes look like!" Matt jumped in. "Maybe we want to know what the person we saved looks like!"

"Saved, huh?" They quipped. Helped might have been more so the word they would have used. If Matt had stayed as frozen as he did, hesitating to shoot, he would have been buried beneath the roots of the planet. But, it was true, Voltron had come to take them away from the planet they wouldn't have survived on much longer.

Matt questioned his entire existence. Why were they so hard to talk to? Maybe Allura was right about the bland communication. "Yeah, I freaking saved you from an evil, self-aware tree!" He cried, arms flying in the air.

"Right." They let out a little laugh.

Matt grumbled, throwing his head in his hands. "I thought they said you were kind? Friendly? Personable?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Do you know the way to my friends?" They asked. 

Even though they avoided his question, Matt didn't get the feeling this person was bad by any means--just hesitant to reveal too much. He understood.

Matt straightened up. "Yeah, and I'll take you there on one condition."

They tilt their head. "What is it?"

"Tell me your name." He smiled mischievously. "I'm Matt." With an outstretched hand, he offered it to the stranger.

They took it immediately and shook. Good, he thought, they know what a handshake is. "Im Y/N."

Pidge just snickered at her older brother and his antics.